DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the First Baptist Church of Quitman. Now, if you want to understand a place, sometimes you start with a single day. November 16, 1850.
Pioneer settlers gathered somewhere in Wood County — not in a grand church, mind you, not even in a proper building — and they organized what would become one of the earliest churches in the whole county. And here's a detail worth savoring: the man who moderated that founding meeting wasn't even a Baptist. He was a Cumberland Presbyterian, the Reverend Simon W.
Weaver. Sometimes the right person just shows up when you need them. The charter members rolled call like a frontier census.
Ursula Benton. M. M. and Mary Bigham.
James, Robert, Silas, Mary A. L., and Elizabeth Duncan. Joseph, Alexander, and Martha Greer.
Peter, Frances, and Mary Rozell. James N. Stedman.
And John and Augusta Williams. Names that carry the weight of people who built something from nothing on open Texas ground. And for a while, the ground was exactly where they worshipped.
Homes. Open air. No walls, no roof but the sky.
That was the early days of the First Baptist Church of Quitman. By 1855, things were looking up — literally. A two-story building with a belfry went up at College and Good streets.
Now, the Baptists didn't build that one alone. The Presbyterians and the Masons were in on it together. That bell you might notice mentioned on this marker?
It rang from that very building, starting in 1855. Then in 1865, the Masons bought the building and opened it up to all faiths. All faiths, every one welcome, until that structure was razed in 1900.
Forty-five years of shared worship, then gone. But here's the thing about this congregation — they didn't scatter. On that same lot, the Baptists and Masons put up another two-story frame building.
Under capable pastors, the congregation grew. A new building came in 1929 at Lane and College streets, and then that one gave way to the present plant in 1952. Layer by layer, decade by decade.
That bell from 1855 — the one that rang through all those years, right up until 1929 — it's been preserved as a historical relic. Some things earn the right to stick around. The pulpit here drew notable guests over the years, including the Reverend George W.
Truett, the world-renowned minister out of Dallas. When a congregation pulls a name like that to the front of the room, you know it's built a reputation worth something. But perhaps the most striking thread in this whole story is this: the First Baptist Church of Quitman is noted as the home church of James Stephen Hogg — born 1851, died 1906 — the first native-born Governor of Texas.
The first. Native-born. Of the whole state.
One church. One county. One cold November meeting in 1850.
And from it, all of that.
What the marker says
One of the earliest churches in Wood County. Organized Nov. 16, 1850, by pioneer settlers in a meeting moderated by a Cumberland Presbyterian, the Rev. Simon W. Weaver. Charter members included: Ursula Benton; M. M. and Mary Bigham; James, Robert, Silas, Mary A. L., and Elizabeth Duncan; Joseph, Alexander, and Martha Greer; Peter, Frances, and Mary Rozell; James N. Stedman; and John and Augusta Williams. Worship services were held in homes and open air in early days. A 2-story building with belfry was erected at College and Good streets in 1855 by the Presbyterians and Masons. In 1865 the Masons bought that building and made it available to all faiths until its razing in 1900. On same lot, Baptists and Masons erected another 2-story frame edifice. Under capable pastors, congregation grew. A 1929 building at Lane and College streets was replaced by the present plant in 1952. This bell (used from 1855 to 1929) is preserved as an historical relic. The pulpit here has been filled by notable guests, including the Rev. George W. Truett, world-renowned minister of Dallas. This is also noted as the home church of James Stephen Hogg (1851-1906), the first native-born Governor of Texas. (1970)